I'm making a cake for a co-worker and all I really know for sure is she wants pecans. I'm kind of leaning towards a praline filling, but am really undecided on the cake itself and the icing. I'm not concerned with the decorating part as she doesn't expect it to be decorated.

The only thing that comes to mind is a yellow cake with praline filling and chocolate buttercream.

My mind is a total vacuum right now - can anybody make any suggestions?

TIA

The only suggestion I have is to possibly incorporate the Special Edition Pralines & Creme coffee creamer by CoffeMate either in the batter or the buttercream or both. I think this would be really good in a yellow cake. Anyone else with any good ideas? HTH!

MemphisMom9801's idea is great, you can also decorate it the crushed pralines or candied pecans...

I like cream cheese icing with pecans, ( I wonder if the pralines creamer would be good in that)

butter pecan cake with your praline filling

turtle cake, using pecans instead of cashews

german chocolate cake with coconut pecan icing

Theresa

My favorite cake with pecans is a butter yellow cake made in a bundt pan. After you turn the cake out and put it on its plate, fill the middle (hole) with pecans, then pour caramel icing on top and sprinkle chopped pecans onto the warm icing.

If you want to do a layer cake with the praline filling you could still drizzle caramel topping on the top edge of the cake and let it dribble down the sides.

Suze.

Oh yum... the cream cheese icing with pecans sounds great! May have to try that one myself.

My favorite is coconut pecan filling like in a German chocolate cake...yum! But I'm certainly thinking about using the coffee creamer now.

I make a marble cake, 3 minute real chocolate fudge icing with crushed pecans sprinkled on top while fudge is setting. It's to die for.

What about Caramel pecan filling. This is one of my most popular filling.

saving

These all sound so yummy!!

COCONUT LAYER CAKE
(from the April/May/96 Edition of Taste of Home)

CAKE BATTER:
½ cup butter, softened    1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup shortening      1 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar        1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs, separated      2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups all-purpose flour    ½ cup chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and pecans. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; gently fold into batter. Pour into two greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans before removing to wire racks; cool completely. Frost and top with lightly toasted coconut and whole pecans as desired.

FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
4 cups (1 pound) confectioners sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted
pecan halves

Beat cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Frost cake and top with coconut and whole pecans.
YUMMY!!!!!, TINA

All of these are great suggestions! I like the idea of incorporating caramel in there somewhere. I forgot to state "no coconut". There are a few people at the office that just can't tolerate the texture of coconut
They like the flavor of coconut just not the texture.

Red velvet cake can have cream cheese frosting with pecans. She might like that. Just another idea.

You could try an Italian cream cake ...very yummy.
Here is the link to the recipe I use and you can always omit the coconut.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Cream-Cake-II/Detail.aspx

Hope this helps